Cyclone Nancy
by Wiggle34
Summary: Hammersley gets caught in a Cyclone what will happen to them?
1. Chapter 1

Wednesday 22nd April

1700hrs Channel Nine News

**IN BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT** we would like to bring you a press release from Commander Maxine White.

The TV view switches to Commander Maxine White, Commander Mike Flynn, and Commander Steve Marshall. Maxine is standing behind a podium inside a hall at Navcom Cairns. You can see the worry on their faces.

"At 2100hrs yesterday evening we lost contact with HMAS Hammersley and at 2300hrs we then lost contact with HMAS Barren. HMAS Hammersley is a Patrol Boat based here in Cairns and HMAS Barren is a Frigate returning from the gulf. Both boats had reported that they were traveling through Cyclone Nancy. At present we have no further information to bring you. Our prayers and thoughts are with their friends and families at this time."

"Ma'am when will there be a search and rescue mission for the two boats?" asks one reporter.

"Due to the safety we are unable to send any boats out to search for them till Cyclone Nancy has been downgraded or has passed the area that they were last heard from." Maxine moves away from the podium.

Camera view follows Maxine, Mike and Steve as they leave the area and head off though a door on the side of the hall

Back in the news room

We will bring you live updates as they come to hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Tuesday 21st April

2000hrs

HMAS Hammersley

"RO let Navcom know that we are traveling through the Cyclone to a mayday call and we will do 30mins sit reps with them till we are clear of it." Kate says to him.

"Yes Ma'am"

Navcom

Cairns

2100hrs

"Navcom this is HMAS Hammer…. The line goes dead.

"HMAS Hammersley are you receiving over?" is repeated several times.

For another 10mins the Lieutenant at Navcom keeps trying to contact Hammersley. With no response from them.

**Maxine Whites house**

Maxine is at home enjoy a quiet night in when her phone rings.

"Hello"

"Commander White it is Lieutenant Smith here. We have lost contacted with Hammersley."

Maxine quickly sits upright on her couch. "WHAT say that again Lieutenant?"

"We have lost contacted with Hammersley they cut off halfway through a sit rep. We can't raise them at all. I have someone trying every 5mins to contact them and still nothing"

"Ok I am on my way."

**Hammersley **

**2100hrs**

"Navcom this is HMAS Hammersley." Hammersley gets hit by a lighting strike.

"Charge engine room and get the jenny up and running then get those engines back running. RO get to Comcen and get a message to Navcom or anyone out there."

"Yes Ma'am."

Dutchy and 2Dad's come to the bridge.

"Boss what do you won't us to do?" asks Dutchy

"2Dad's I won't you to go check with Charge and see if he needs you if not then report back here to me. Dutchy I won't you to get me Horse and the X." The X arrives on the bridge.

"Boss the X is already here"

"Thanks Dutchy go get me Horse. We need look outs on the bridge with Bino's"

"Yes Ma'am" Dutchy takes off to get Horse

"Boss what do you won't me to do?"

"Right X I need to know what is and isn't working. Make sure Charge gets all the help he can get as we need power and the engines back running if we are to make it through this."

"Yes Boss" the X heads off to see Charge.

**Engine Room **

Charge has managered to get the Jenny up and running so there is power. Now he is working on the engines.

"Come on what is wrong." curses Charge

"Charge sit rep"

"X. Jenny is up so power is back on in the bridge and Comcen. But I can't get the engines to kick in they start up then they stop as soon as any rev's are asked of it. I need 2Dad's to hurry up with his tools and take a look."

"Hold your horses Charge I am here now with my tools."

"Ok I will leave you two down here report back as soon as you can with info"

"Will do X"

**Back on the Bridge **

"Ma'am I don't think we are getting through to anyone. The line is dead"

"Thanks RO just keep trying we might get something out there for someone to here."

Thirty minutes later Charge has the engines running but only just enough to keep them upright. They start to head towards a small island hoping it might help provide some shelter through the storm.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tuesday**

**Navcom**

**2130hrs**

Maxine has arrived.

"Lieutenant has Commander Flynn been informed yet?"

"No Ma'am I was not sure if you wanted us to ring him."

"Ok right we will wait for now. Now Lieutenant what info do we have so far."

"At 2000hrs we had Hammersley contacting us informing us that they were traveling through the cyclone to answer a mayday call. They also said that they would do 30min sit reps with us until they had cleared the cyclone. They did there next sit rep at 2030hrs with no issues. But the 2100hr sit rep cut out half way through and we have not heard anything from them since. I have Lieutenant Watson trying to make contact with them. Also Ma'am HMAS Barren has informed us that they are also in the cyclone I have asked them to keep an eye out for Hammersley."

"Excellent thinking there Lieutenant."

**2230hrs**

**HMAS Barren**

"Lieutenant Davis anything on radar?"

"No Sir. And no sign of Hammersley either Sir."

"Ok thanks. Keep an eye on the radar just in case."

"Will do Sir"

**HMAS Hammersley **

The word BRACE was heard throughout Hammersley as a rogue wave hit them.

Swain struggles to get Hammersley back straight again.

"Ma'am I don't know how much longer she can handle this with our engines the way they are. We really need to get to shelter."

"I know Swain. Shelter is about 30mins away at the current speed."

**2300hrs**

**HMAS BARREN **

"Navcom this is HMAS Barren reporting in for hourly sit rep. Nothing to report over"

"HMAS Barren this is Navcom. Thank you for the sit rep. Over" This is the last time Navcom hears from HMAS Barren.

10minutes later the HMAS Barren is hit by lighting. They are no longer receiving or sending messages. Their engines are still working fine and they are slowly making their way through the Cyclone and back to port. They are not due to dock in Cairns till 2100hrs tomorrow.

**HMAS Hammersley **

"Ok we are close to the island now. Hopefully we get some shelter from this Cyclone."

Around 0100hours Wednesday morning there is a large banging and crashing noise heard on Hammersley.

**2330hrs **

**Navcom **

**Cairns **

"Ma'am I have been trying to contact HMAS Barren but am not getting any response from them." Maxine is not looking too impressed.

"Ok Thanks Lieutenant."

Maxine heads to her office. She rings Canberra to inform them of the latest news. That they now have two boats out of contact. They let Maxine know that they are sending Steve Marshall up to help out. Maxine then makes another call.

"Mike Flynn Speaking" he says half asleep.

"Mike its Maxine here" Mike sits bolt upright in his bed as he hears her voice sounding worried. He looks at his clock it reads 2358hrs. His first thought is Kate.

"Maxine… is Kate ok?"

"Mike I need you to come into work we got a situation"

"Maxine tell me, is Kate ok?" Maxine can hear his worry in his voice

"Mike I would prefer to tell you in person."

"Maxine stop pissing me around and tell me is Kate ok"

"Mike we lost contact with Hammersley and also HMAS Barren. I need you to come in and help us out in here." Mike says nothing he is shocked to hear Hammersley is missing.

"Mike?"

"Sorry Maxine I will be there in 20mins. Bye" Mike hangs up his phone. A lone tear falls down. Stay positive Mike. They may have just lost communication. It has happened before. He gets out of bed jumps in the shower quickly to wake up and then dresses and leaves for Navcom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wednesday 0100hrs **

**Cairns **

**Navcom **

Mike and Maxine are in Maxine's office. Everyone who is outside Maxine's office can here the raised voices from her office.

"WHAT"

"Our last transmission with them was at 2100hrs. Nothing since"

"Bloody hell Maxine why wasn't I informed sooner?"

"For a number of reasons Mike, so calm down."

"Calm down. Like hell I can Maxine."

"Look Mike we have a job to do. With both Hammersley and Barren now not responding to calls we have two lost ships. We need to put our own personal feeling aside and do our jobs." Mike sits down on one of the chairs.

"Look Mike I am just as worried as you are about Hammersley. But we need to stay focus and do our job. Canberra has Steve flying up on the next available flight. Now Mike go get yourself a coffee, calm down and I will see you back here in 5mins with a clear head."

The ball pen in Navcom is a hive of activity a number of officers have been called in to help. They plot different courses that the boats could be on. Different Island they could use for shelter. They also have two officers trying to get hold of both boats. But they receive nothing back from either boat.

**0700hrs **

Maxine and Mike both read the latest weather report things are not looking good. The cyclone is slow moving. And it is heading across the top of Australia preventing them being able to do anything but sit and wait.

**0800hrs **

**Wednesday **

**Channel Nine**

The current kids programme changes to a view of the Channel Nine News Room. Pictures of the Cyclone's damage are playing behind the news reader.

**BREAKING NEWS **

Cyclone Nancy last night hit the top of Australia. Darwin felt some of the force of Cyclone Nancy as it makes it way towards Cape York and Papua New Guinea. They do not expect it to make its full force known till later today. Anyone that is in the Cyclones path is advised to move inland. We will bring you further updates of Cyclone Nancy as we get them to hand.

A few more pictures of the mess in Darwin are shown then it switches back to the programme that was playing before

**0900hrs Steve Marshal arrives. **

"Morning Steve" says Maxine. Steve can see both Maxine and Mike are tired

"Morning Mike, Maxine long night I see?"

"Yes" they both reply to Steve. They then head off to Maxine office to talk.

"Right Maxine tell me what has happened so far."

"Ok Steve. Yesterday Hammersley was responding to a mayday call from within the cyclone. They had set up 30min sit reps with us here. Their third sit rep at 2100hrs cut off half way through and we have not heard from them since. Lieutenant Brown informed HMAS Barren of the need to keep an eye out for Hammersley as they are also out there. Though at 2300hrs last night we received our last sit rep from them also. So now we have two boats out there not responding to our calls that are in the middle of a cyclone."

"Ok what was Hammersley last known location?"

"Well from the Intel I have got gathered they left Darwin port at 1600hrs. At about 2100hrs they would have been in the Arafura Sea. They would of hit the storm not long after leaving port." Replies Mike he shakes his head. Maxine can see Mike is not happy about something. Something is bugging him.

"Mike something is bugging you what is it?" asks Maxine

"It just seems odd that Kate would head out into a Cyclone after being docked at Darwin. It would have been better to stay docked and ride it out not go out to sea." Steve notices how Mike uses Kate first name not her rank and surname.

"Mike the Cyclone was not expected to come down this low. When they left port the weather map had the path on the same route but higher up. We here at Navcom only got the warning of it moving further south when it happened. By then Hammersley was already out at sea. They would have been expecting to just ride the edge of it not get landed right in the middle of it." Replies Maxine

"Well from the info RO sent through via the sit reps they would have been about here (Mike points to an area on a map in Maxine officer) when we lost contact with them heading in this direction. Now as long as it was nothing major that went wrong I would say they may head to here for shelter. But if something went wrong they could be hiding around one of the little islands in this area. (Mike points to a couple of small Islands on the map."

"Ok Mike what if they lost power?" Mike goes pale and white. It takes a few moments for him to gather himself. Steve is worried about how quickly Mike went pale. Mike hold yourself together Steve is just thinking of all the possibilities here. Breath Kate will be fine, the crew will be fine. Breath.

"Well if that is the case Steve they could be anywhere, including overboard." Mikes stomach turns over and he feels like being sick. Mike sits down.

"Ok what about HMAS Barren what was their set course."

Mike stands up again.

"Barren was returning from the Gulf having been there for the last 4months on deployment. Their set course is this. Though they were not due to dock here in Cairns till 1400hrs today. And from their last known position before they hit the cyclone. Being a frigate they will just keep going through it all but a tad slower do arrival time is anytime from then onwards. Also neither of the emergency beacons the two crews carry have been activated."


	5. Chapter 5

**Wednesday **

**0700hrs **

**HMAS Barren **

"Sir it looks like our communication system is down. From what we can tell we have no signal at all. All other systems on the boat are working fine."

"Thank you Lieutenant. Lieutenant Brown, is our ETA to base still on target?"

"Yes Sir it is we should be arriving around 2100hrs today."

"How far off are we from rounding Cape York?"

"About 5hours Sir"

"Thank you Lieutenant."

HMAS Barren keeps heading towards Cairns. The Cyclone has slowed them down but other than no signal they seem fine.

**0900hrs **

**HMAS Hammersley **

**Engine Room **

"Charge any luck with those engines yet?"

"No Ma'am"

"Not what I wanted to hear Charge"

"Sorry Ma'am but I can't seem to find out what is wrong. And with the weather the way it is I can't check the props to see if they are the reason."

"Ok Charge just keep working at it."

"Will do Ma'am"

**Bridge **

On the bridge is Dutchy, RO, 2Dad's who is at Marine link seeing if it is causing the engine issues. Bird, Ryan White, Horse and Swain

"Ok guys it looks like we have sustained some damage. Not just what we can see from here in the bridge but also with the engines. The weather does not look like it is stopping soon. Now the island is giving us some shelter but not much. All we can do is sit and wait it out."

"How long could we be sitting here for?" asks Dutchy

"Well from the last lot of info we have here hopefully sometime this afternoon evening it should start letting up but due to our location and the Cyclones path no one will be out looking for us till later tonight or tomorrow morning and then they are going to think we are elsewhere not sitting here. Once the weather has cleared we will be sending divers down to check the props if the engines are still not working. We can sit here ok but we can't leave here for safety till this weather is over."

"What about the EBRIP?" asks X

"Sorry X but that is a last resort. It only has a 72hour live span. We need to wait before we use it. Like until the weather is clear and then given enough time for this cyclone to get past Cape York. Right back to work all of you."

They head back off and Kate sits back in the CO chair and talks to herself.

"Dam Mike is going to be pissed at me. Not only have put his baby in danger, I went out in this weather." Swain hears Kate as he is sitting at the helm.

"Boss Commander Flynn will not be upset about the damage to the boat. He will be more concerned that we are all ok and most importantly you." Kate just shakes her head and she smiles. Her first smile since things started to go wrong.

**1200hrs **

**HMAS Barren **

"Sir we are not far off Cape York and the turn to Cairns"

"Thanks Lieutenant."

Barren heads around the Cape and starts to head towards Cairns.

**1400hrs **

**HMAS Barren **

"Lieutenant Brown can you get the techs to go outside and see if they can fix our communication problems now we seem to have gotten out of the Cyclone" asks Barrens CO

"Yes Sir"

**1600hrs **

**HMAS Barren **

"Sir we are making good speed expected to arrive in port in about 3hours. An hour ahead of time."

"Thanks. Any luck with the repairs?" asks barrens CO

"No Sir nothing yet they are still working on it"

"Thank you"

**1700hrs **

**HMAS Hammersley**

**Bridge **

"Ok Guys the weather is looking better now. The wind and sea has died down. Now if you go outside make sure you have a harness on and are attached to something just in case." Kate pauses for a moment.

"2Dad's any luck with those engines yet?"

"No Ma'am. Charge and I think we may know what is wrong but still working on it."

"Ok do the best you can to get them working enough to get us heading home. Does Charge still won't divers to look at the prop?"

"No sure boss will go check with him right now." 2Dad's heads off to see Charge who is still in the engine room.

"Dutchy, take you and 3 others to help clean up outside. Bring in anything that can be brought in and then make sure the rest is tied down well. "

"Yes Ma'am."


	6. Chapter 6

**Wednesday **

**Navcom**

Steve has sent Maxine and Mike home to get some rest.

**1500hrs**

Mike and Maxine both arrive back at Navcom. There is no new news from either of the two boats.

"Maxine we need to prepare a press release." Maxine just nods her head.

Steve organises the news channels and informs them to be at Navcom at 1630hrs and prepare to go live at 1700hrs.

Time comes around and Steve gets a Lieutenant to show them all to the lecture hall so they can set up. Five minutes before 1700hrs Maxine, Mike and Steve enter the hall and head to the podium. All eyes and ears are on them. The press can tell from the way Maxine and Mike look that the news is not that great. The press release is given and they head out of the hall and they return to the ball pen

At 1800hrs Mike gets an updated weather report and goes to see Maxine straight away about it.

"Maxine. I have just received another weather update by the looks we might be able to start sending boats out about 2200hrs if the Cyclone keeps moving like it is. It is at Cape York now expected to pass in the next four hours or so."

"Ok Mike I will let the crews now they are sailing in two hours."

**1900hrs**

There is a cheer from the ball pen both Maxine and Mike come in. Even Steve comes out of Mike's office to find out what is going on.

"Ok what is the cheering for?"

"Ma'am, Sir we just had a report that the HMAS Barren has been seen sighted not far from Port Douglas."

"Who reported it Lieutenant?" replies Steve

"A fishing charter Sir. They said they were unable to make contact with it. But it was the HMAS Barren. They informed the harbour master of their sighting who then informed us"

"Thank you Lieutenant." replies Steve.

"Mike get an Ambulance at the docks ready and waiting just in case they need them. Maxine make sure there are plenty of guards at the docks. As once the Barren is seen closer to Cairns and coming in there is going to be a crowd wonting to greet them. Lieutenant I won't you and a few others to ring and inform the family members that the Barren is docking in about an hour.

Steve and Maxine head down to the docks to make sure everything is set up they know people will start turning up once word gets out. When they arrive they find people are already there waiting.

**2000hrs**

**BREAKING NEWS**

A Picture of HMAS Barren is showing on the TV screen.

HMAS Barren has arrived in safely in Cairns.

A picture of HMAS Barren arriving at the Naval Dock in Cairns is shown. They also show groups of people waiting for the crew of Barren. The view moves to one of Steve and Maxine standing beside the dock. They are separated from the rest of the crowd which is behind barriers that have been set up.

The CO of HMAS Barren disembarks from the boat once the gangway had been lowered. He walks straight to Steve and Maxine

"Welcome home Lieutenant Commander Mules"

"Thank you it is great to be finally home. Any word from Hammersley yet?"

"No not yet. Though a quick sit rep would be nice"

"Sir, Ma'am while traveling through the cyclone we got hit by lighting which has fried our communications. The techs have not found the issue yet. Everything else is fine."

"Good to hear. I won't a more detail debrief tomorrow in Maxine's office at 0900hrs."

"Yes Sir" He heads back to his ship and crew.

**HMAS Hammersley**

**1800hrs**

"Ma'am time to test these engines out"

"Thank you Charge start them up and let's see what happens." Charge starts the engines up. The engines roar into life.

"Now that is a lovely sound Ma'am" There is some cheering on the bridge

"Sure is Charge but we still got to move yet. 2Dad's any luck with the radar yet?"

"No Ma'am but the deep sounder is working. The radar though might be damaged outside hard to say. It is working but not fully it comes and goes."

"Ok thanks 2Dad's."

"Charge is the bow thruster working?"

"Yes Ma'am they are"

"Ok let's pick the anchor up and let's see if we can move." They pick up their anchor.

"Swain revolutions 1000"

"Revolutions 1000" repeats Swain. Hammersley starts to move off.

"Swain up the revolutions to 1300"

"Yes Ma'am revolutions 1300" as the revs go up Charge notices changes on the marine link.

"Um Ma'am?"

"Yes Charge"

"I would not push her much on the rev's got temps rising if we push her higher we might lose engines again."

"Thanks Charge."

Kate gets out of her chair and goes over to the map calculating how long till they reach Cairns at current speed. She works out that it be about lunch time tomorrow before they reach port.

**Navcom**

**2200hrs**

"Mike, Maxine go home there is not much you guys can do. Get some rest and if I hear anything I will let you know." Both Maxine and Mike head home neither one of them sleeps properly that night both worried about their loved ones that are out on Hammersley.

Steve has tasked Kingston, Chandlers, to go search for Hammersley. They have already left port leaving 30mins earlier than planned as both crews wont to find Hammersley.

**0100hrs**

A Lieutenant runs to Maxine's office to get Steve

"Sir Hammersley's EBRIP has been set off." Steve face drops. He shakes their head.

"When was it activated?" Steve leaves the office to head to the big screen in the ball pen where he can see its location.

"5mins ago as soon as it came up and we found it was Hammersley we came straight to you. They are located here Sir." The Lieutenant points to an area on the screen map in the ball pen.

"Ok get me Chandlers on the stat phone they are the closest ones to them."

"Yes Sir"

Steve speaks to the CO of Chandlers and informs of the location of the EBRIP signal and sends them to that location. He then contacts Kingston to also head that way. They will take longer to get there as they are searching in a different area to the Chandlers.


	7. Final Chapter

**0200hrs Thursday**

"Sir we have something on the radar at the EBRIP location. We are about 40mins away from them"

"Ok thanks Nav. Let's hope it is Hammersley and it is in one piece. XO get a boarding team ready to go once we have arrived closer to them." replies Chandlers CO

**0100hrs Thursday morning**

"CHARGE what is going on"

"Not sure Ma'am the engines are going nuts everything is red and that props have stopped. Going to have to shut down." Kate thinks back to the last time she heard those noises was when they hit a ghost net.

"Charge can the bow thruster's stay online?"

"I will try ma'am to keep them online and working."

"Don't try Charge do we need those thrusters working."

"Yes Ma'am"

Charge leaves the bridge and heads off to find out what is wrong.

"Dutchy get a torch and check the back of the boat that we are not got anything behind us that we shouldn't have"

"Yes Ma'am" Dutchy heads off to do as Kate has asked. 10mins later Dutchy comes back to the bridge

"Ma'am there is fishing net behind us"

"WHAT"

"I would say a ghost net; there is one float that I was able to spot. I would say that the net is wrapped around our props."

"Great we are sitting ducks. Dutchy go find Charge and inform him of what you found. X get the EBRIP we going to have to set it off we aren't going anywhere now." They both go off and get what is needed. X returns with the EBRIP and Kate activates it. Kate sits back in the CO's chair. Swain is on the helm. Kate thinks away to herself. She is worried about what Mike will say and also Maxine. Not only have I gone out when there was a cyclone but I have damaged the boat and now we are stuck here in the middle of the Arafura in the middle of the night.

**0220hrs**

**HMAS Chandlers**

"X what is the EOD showing us?" asks the CO

"Sir it looks like Hammersley is their hull number 82?"

"It sure is. Are they a float or sinking?"

"They look like they are a float but not moving at all Sir."

"Ok get the RHIBS in the water and get them heading towards them. RO put through a call to Navcom and let Commander Marshall know we have spotted Hammersley floating at the EBRIP location"

The Chandlers is a buzz of activity they slow down to lower the RHIBS. The RHIBS speed off towards Hammersley.

**0230**

"Boss do you hear that noise?" asks Swain. Both Kate and Swain listen.

"Boss, Swain is that a boat over in that direction?" asks the X

"Dutchy see if you can get them up on the EOD"

"Yes Ma'am"

"Ma'am there is that sound again." Kate is a tad worried

"Dutchy, Charge arm up and protect the back of the ship just in case."

"Yes Ma'am they both run off and get a gun each and stand on the back of the boat. They both hear the sound of 2 boats coming towards them. Charge thinks the sound is one he is used to hearing from the Hammersley RHIB's

"Dutchy those engines sound like our RHIB engines"

"Come on Charge all engines sound the same"

"No Dutchy they don't different engines will sound different. And I am the chief engineer I should know these things."

"Charge they getting closer"

All over the boat everyone hears the next statement

"THIS IS AUSTRALIAN WARSHIP CHANDLERS. WE HAVE A BOARDING TEAM ON ITS WAY OVER TO YOU" There is some cheering from within the boat. Kate feels a tad better that now they have been found. But they still need to get home first.

Dutchy and Charge lower their weapons and wait for the boarding team to arrive.

"See told you Dutchy I knew that engine sound." Says Charge as two RHIBS pull up behind Hammersley.

The Chandlers crew hope on board Hammersley and Dutchy takes their XO straight up to the bridge to see Kate. The XO passes Kate a radio so she can talk to the CO on Chandlers. About 40mins later Hammersley is hooked up to Chandlers and they make the long tow back to Cairns. They know that in just over an hour Kingston will be with them to help with the tow.

**0300hrs**

**Navcom**

"Commander Marshall phone call for you form Chandlers"

"Thanks Lieutenant" Marshall picks up the phone and starts talking to the CO of Chandlers.

"Sir we have Hammersley safe and sound. They have engine problems, a ghost net around their props and have lost all communication including radar. We are in the process of setting up a towline to start towing them back to port. All the crew seem fine no injuries."

"Your ETA back to base"

"We are meeting up with Kingston at about 0400hrs to help with the tow and then we should be back in port about 1130hrs Sir."

"Thank you keep the sit reps up please"

"Yes Sir"

Once off the phone Steve rings Maxine and Mike to inform them that Hammersley has been found and to come in a 0900hrs. They are both relieved. Steve heads off to have a nap before coming back in a few hours. He feels like he now can sleep.

When Maxine and Mike arrive in the morning Steve is already there in Maxine office. They head straight to Maxine office to talk to Steve.

"Morning"

"Morning" they both reply.

"Right Kingston and Chandlers are towing Hammersley in they are expected to arrive just around 1130hrs. The family members of the rest of the crew have been informed and will be down at the docks when Hammersley comes in. Also news crews will be there. Now we have some work we need to get sorted before we head down."

"Ok what do you won't us to do?"

"Well we got to sort out who is covering Hammersley patrol for the next few weeks as Hammersley will be out of action while it gets repairs done to it."

"Ok we can sort that out. Is there anything else we should do?" replies Maxine

"Not that I can think of at this time. I have organised a few things. Though I do wont the crew back here tomorrow 0900hrs for a debrief. I would do it this afternoon but I feel time with family is more important. And Mike, Maxine make sure anything that you need to have done today is done before Hammersley arrives as I would presume both of you will wont the afternoon off."

"Yes."

"Ok off you two go" Mike and Maxine leave and head off to do what they need to do.

Mike sits at his desk trying to work on paperwork but his mind is elsewhere. He just wants to see Kate and make sure she is alright.

Back on Hammersley the crew are busy cleaning down the inside of the ship while it is under tow. Kate has had some rest in her cabin. When they are about 30mins from port Kate informs the crew that once docked that she wants everyone in their whites before leaving the ship. She lets them know who will do the docking while the others go and get ready. As they get close to the docks Charge starts up the bow thrusters and they use them to bring Hammersley alongside with some help. Everyone on all three patrol boats can see the crowd that is waiting for Hammersley.

**Back at Navcom**

Mike, Maxine and Steve head down to the docs 30mins before Hammersley arrival time. As they arrive there is already a large crowd of people there waiting for the three boats to arrive. Mike is looking out towards the sea when he sees the patrol boats come in to view.

"Sir they coming into view" Mike tells Steve as he points out to see.

**CHANNEL NINE**

**BREAKING NEWS**

The television switches to live broadcasting of two patrol boats towing a damaged Hammersley towards Cairns.

Mike, Steve and Maxine stand by the docks in silence. As Hammersley gets close to the docks Mike sees the damage to the boat. He is shocked to see what she looks like. He is praying like god that Kate is truly ok. They hear the bow thrusters kick in on Hammersley. They see the tow line to Kingston has been dropped and that the tow line for Chandlers has been shortened to help bring them alongside the dock. Once close enough Swain uses the bow thrusters to push Hammersley sideways onto the dock. The crew throw out the lines to the dock crew who then hook Hammersley up. The Thrusters are shut down. Kate breaths a sign of relief to finally be home safe and sound.

"Boss you did well"

"Thanks Swain"

There is lots of cheering from the crowd on the docks. The Hammersley crew then all gather on the boat deck once they have docked safely

Channel nine news shows a picture of the Hammersley crew on the boat deck in their whites and also the Kingston and Chandlers.

Steve, Mike and Maxine watch from the dock as Kate talks to her crew. Kate dismisses her crew. They start to all head off Hammersley to their family and friends. Mike stands watching Kate as she stands on the back of Hammersley not moving just looking at him. Once the rest of the crew are off Hammersley he moves to the gangway to board Hammersley to check on Kate. But as he gets half way across Kate has met him in the middle. They stand there looking at each other. Steve and Maxine turn towards them and watch.

Channel nine news switches from the crowd to the two Navy Officers on the gangway of Hammersley

"Hi"

"Hi you ok?" asks Mike

"I am sorry I put your baby in danger?" Mike pulls Kate into his chest

"Your safe that is all that matters" He moves away slightly he places one hand on her face and wipes away a lone tear. He lowers his head some and gives Kate a light kiss on the lips

"Mike they are watching us" replies Kate as she sees Steve and Maxine watching them

"I don't care." Mike then pulls Kate in for another more passionate kiss. He wraps his arms around her waist and her arms go up around his neck.

Channel nine news shows Mike and Kate kissing on the gangway of Hammersley

The crew of Hammersley are all home safe and sound with loved ones.

Steve and Maxine watch on.

"Now that explains it all" replies Steve. Maxine just nods her head.


End file.
